


Within Darkness

by Eilimae



Series: Danny Phantom: Shades of Our Shadows [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M, Rough Sex, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:41:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27212848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eilimae/pseuds/Eilimae
Summary: Danny's life hasn't ended up the way he thought it would by age 24, and it sends him into a deep depression. In an attempt to re-start his life, Danny meets someone who makes his world an even more confusing place, and life turns into a mess of betrayal, sex, and death. Before he can truly move forward, Danny must make a choice, but neither option will be easy.
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Original Character(s)
Series: Danny Phantom: Shades of Our Shadows [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2014870
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The gray light filtered through the dusty curtains, and he squirmed. Fuck, he thought. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He really just did not have the energy today. In truth, he never seemed to have energy lately. He wondered if she finally knew better than to bother him this morning, but that glimmer of hope faded when she barged in the door, letting the artificial light from the hallway in, soaking him with its fierce gleam.

"Dammit, what the fuck, Jaz?" he groaned.

"Oh, shut up, you should know by now that I'm not going anywhere." she said as she went straight for the curtains.

"Don't you fucking dare." he warned dangerously, one green eye open, focused on her.

"You're not gonna do shit." she teased, and swiped the curtains wide open.

"Fuck you." he sneered, lifting the covers over his head. She turned around, hands on her hips.

"Fuck you. You know, I'm really sick of you lately. All of this fucking whining and moping. Seriously, it's been two years...ugh, shit, why do I have to keep giving you this lecture? You're a fucking adult, goddamn act like it!"

"Goddamn it, Jaz, get the fuck out."

"Fine, I'm done trying to get you out of this depression you've been in. Fuck you, Danny." And she left. He rolled over. Now he had a choice in front of him; he could either fall back asleep and wait for the inevitable visit from his parents in the next half hour, or he could get up, toss something on, and leave before they get done in the lab. He tossed around the options, trying to decide which was the less annoying. He figured he might as well get dressed and head out. He could at least avoid the all the morning lectures, and maybe, if he stayed out late enough, he could avoid the night lectures too.

He grabbed a pop-tart lying on the table, probably his dad's, and slid out the front door just to come face to face with Tucker.

"Fuck, dude." he said, caught off guard. Tucker just stared. "What?" Danny demanded angrily.

"I was waiting for you." he said. Danny rolled his eyes and pushed past him. "You're going the wrong way." Tucker yelled after him.

"Doesn't feel wrong to me." Danny said, still walking.

"Okay, have fun looking for a new place to live, jack ass." Danny stopped and grunted.

"What does that mean?" he asked. Tucker continued to walk in the other direction. "What the fuck does that mean?" he asked again, his tone becoming more threatening.

"Heh, I'm not scared of you, asshole. You're not gonna do shit. You don't do shit all day, you ain't gonna do shit now." he kept walking. Danny just stood there, helpless. Tucker stopped and sighed.

"Fuck, Danny. If you don't get a job or go to school or-", he stopped, and Danny wondered if he would say it. "Look, if you don't do something somewhat productive soon, your folks are going to kick your ass out. Jaz told me. Now, I'm going to my class right now, and you might be able to add if you hurry your ass up." he explained. Danny sneered under his breath.

"Goddamn it. Fuck!" Danny yelled.

"Dude, shut up. It's not the end of the world. Just go to school with me. It's not like she's there." Tucker said, a little worried about his last remark. Danny looked up, his eyes bright green. Tucker sighed.

"Look, I don't have time for it now, but Danny, it's been two years. She's gone. Get over it. Fine someone new. Or at least fuck someone new. Now let's go." he said, feigning bravery. Danny could feel the emptiness again. He didn't want to feel this again, and he wondered if maybe Tucker was right. He sighed, his eyes watering a bit.

"Fine. What class is it?"

"Engl-"

"Fine." Danny cut off. "Let's go."

OOo

It was obvious he was not prepared for this class. Taking pity on him, Tucker gave him a pencil and a piece of paper, but having no backpack and no binder got him a few bitter glares from the professor. Danny rolled his eyes. Don't like it? Buy them for me then, he thought at the professor. He was a little grateful at that moment that couldn't read minds. Suddenly, he noticed a presence behind him. He turned to be staring in the face of a girl with a very sour, annoyed expression on her face.

"What?" Danny asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you think it would be a good idea to take notes on that one sheet of paper you decided would be enough for this class?" she asked bitterly. Danny smirked.

"And, uh, who the fuck are you?" he demanded. Now she smirked.

"Well, if you had been here on the first day, you'd know, wouldn't you?" she said and walked off to another student. Danny shrugged the encounter off as just some over-zealous student like Jaz thinking they could micromanage the whole class. He looked after her as she walked off to the other student, his eyes making their way to her ass. He raised his eyebrow and smirked again. Maybe if she wasn't a bitch. And if I was in the mood. He shook his head and resumed paying some attention to the professor.

The lesson was boring, some crap about how grammar is just so important. He shoved the desk away from himself as he preemptively made for the door.

"Oh, and don't forget, Mia will be holding her tutoring class session next Monday after this class, okay? Make sure you go." the professor announced. Danny turned around and saw the same girl who bothered him early now standing at the front of the classroom.

"Is this session mandatory?" a student asked. Danny noticed the girl wince.

"Erm, no, but it's a really good idea to go to this. It will really help with the little things that may be holding you back from doing better in this class." she said eagerly. Some students pitied her enough to give her a half nod, the others just stared blankly ahead, waiting for the all clear to leave. The professor nodded and the class erupted in noise as the students raced for the door. Tucker walked up to Danny, who was still standing there, staring at the girl. Tucker noticed this. He ushered Danny outside.

"Look, normally I would advise you don't go for anything serious and maybe just hook up with her, but she's the teaching assistant. I think she's around our age, but still, she has the power to fuck with your grade. I wouldn't. At least not until the semester ends. Danny broke his stare, which he had continued to do regardless of the door being in the way, and looked at Tucker.

"I wasn't thinking that." he said. Tucker scoffed. They walked away, and Danny sighed. A girl with blonde hair and a nose ring walked past them on their way to the parking lot, and Danny looked at Tucker. He shrugged. Danny turned around and followed her. Tucker chuckled. Maybe there was hope for Danny yet.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny thrust himself deeper and deeper into her; her moans of pleasure fueling his lust. His right hand grasped her hair, while his left clung to her thigh for balance. Their fucking heightened, she screamed, he felt her tighten around him and could no longer help himself. With a moan, he erupted and collapsed on top of her. He felt the sweat drip off of him, and he fell over onto his side. She turned towards him and began to bury her head into his chest. He instinctively pulled away, almost violently. 

“What?” she asked. He stepped out of the sheets and reached for his boxer briefs. 

“What do you mean ‘what’? I barely know you.” He said tartly. He pulled on his pants. She scoffed.

“Ahh, I see. So that’s how you do it, huh? Use your powers to get the girls all wet for you, huh?” she snapped. He chuckled.

“It’s not my fault if it gets them wet. It’s obviously doing them, and you, a service. Don’t complain about it.” He pulled his shirt over his head. She fell back on the bed. 

“I’m starting to wonder if you even have powers. You haven’t proved anything other than you’re a dick. Seriously, what happened to you?” she scoffed. He zipped his jeans. 

“Oh, you mean since I was fourteen? Yeah, right? Ten years later, why aren’t I still the same stupid, optimistic teen heartthrob? Fuck, I dunno. If you figure it out, let me know.” He spat. She sat up.

“You’re not Danny Phantom.” She shot. He stopped, grabbed his jacket off the ground, and stood back up. 

“You’re right.” He mumbled and slammed the door behind him. 

He felt an instant cold as soon as he left the stoop of the apartment. He bit his lip, not allowing himself to release his breath. Not now, he begged. He looked around and saw nothing except a desolate street at 3 o’clock in the morning. He walked back to his house, which awkwardly was only a few blocks away. I need to get out of this town, he thought to himself. As he reached the stoop of his home, he flew several paces back as he noticed a slender, black figure hunched over the steps. It wasn’t exactly sitting, but rather balancing itself awkwardly over the top step, rocking back and forth, looking as though it may fall over. Danny gulped as the thing seemed to notice him as well. He saw the head of this creature turn, dark, greasy looking black hair fall from its boney shoulder, and as it fell, it seemed to grow longer. Danny felt himself take a step back. The thing reacted to this by rising with inhuman speed. Danny felt his breath become caught in his chest, cold searing into his core, causing him to choke on it. The thing turned its head to the side, crooked, as though it just broke its neck to get a look at him. He could see it better now, as his eyes chose this instant to acclimate to the darkness. It was thin, disgustingly so. It seemed disproportionate, as though all its bones were broken in different ways, not one being set properly. Suddenly the thing’s head fell as though it had been dropped. Danny jumped back.

“Iiiizzzz thizzz whhhaat yoouuu doooo? Izzz thizzz wwhhooooo yoooouuu arrrrreeee?!” it screeched inhumanly. Danny fell to his knees, screaming, pure torment overcoming him. After what felt like forever, the snarling, howling image was replaced with Jack Fenton, leaning over his stoop, staring at his 24-year-old son lying in the street, sobbing.

“Danny!” he yelled as he rushed to him. Danny made no movement toward his father. His head hung and tears of ice began to fall from him. Jack stopped in his tracks as Danny bashed his fist into the ground, breaking the asphalt like glass. Danny fell back, grasping his hair. Jack moved toward him and wrapped him in his arms. Maddie and Jaz watched in horror from the front door.

“Jack, what’s happening?” Maddie asked shakily. Jack motioned for Maddie to come over, and she obliged. She wrapped her son in her arms. 

“Sweetheart…” she whispered. Danny panted, his sobs consuming his energy. 

“I-I couldn’t do anything. I was so w-weak. I am s-so weak. It won’t leave me alone.” He cried and pointed into the street. Jack and Maddie turned to face the dark, empty road, but saw nothing. Maddie turned and saw the new pothole Danny had just put into the street. She gave Jack a worried look. 

“He’s getting too powerful…” she whispered. Jack could only nod. The three of them sat like for a good long while until they were finally able to convince their overwhelmingly distraught son to come into the house and try to sleep. 

No one spoke about it the next day at breakfast, which was taking place at twelve in the afternoon. Danny sat across from his family, nearly the color white, munching on a piece of dry toast. Jack and Maddie simultaneously got up from their seats and immediately left for the lab. They had made the decision to rent a warehouse facility to use as a lab space about two years ago after their son came home one night, his suit in shreds, his face bloodied, and a massive wound in his side. They greatly advised their son to quit his super-hero work, and they only had to ask once, for the next day the saw the remains of Danny’s suit in the garbage, the D insignia ripped to pieces.  
They moved the lab after that, not wanting any of their ghost work around their son if they could help it. Since their son’s retirement, they had been tasked with the city’s protection against the paranormal, and soon they would be moving from the warehouse to a government facility. Danny’s wounds healed, but he retreated into himself, and rarely ever spoke to anyone after that. There was so much that his family and Tucker didn’t understand, which had made it even more confusing when the Manson’s moved away later that same week. Eventually, after a long while, everyone chalked it up to being a very, very bad break up between Danny and Sam, and no one spoke of it after that. 

Danny would eventually go out, come home smelling of alcohol and weed, his pants loose from forgetting his belt at some girl’s house, but no one said a thing. His parents eventually began to wonder if it wouldn’t be better for him to resume his ghost work. They mentioned it in passing to him, but he instantly got up and left, slamming the door behind him, breaking the window. They never brought it up again. 

Danny watched his parents leave the kitchen, grab their suits and coats, and leave. Danny caught Jaz staring at him. He winced. 

“Please…” he said shakily. “Don’t.” She sighed, her eyes beginning to water.

“Danny, we’ve been quiet for two years, but you’re getting worse. I’m seriously afraid to be around you anymore. You haven’t used your powers in so long, but you seem more dangerous than ever-“

“I’m not dangerous.” He cut off.

“Well, that’s not how it looks. Danny please. Just tell me something about what happened that night. Don’t suffer in silence.” She looked at him gently. He stared back blankly.

“I’ll suffer all I want. But don't worry, it likely isn't gonna be silent.”


	3. Chapter 3

Danny couldn’t deny that he was afraid to be alone after the other night. Well, he would deny it to anyone who accused him of it, but to himself, he simply couldn’t be bothered to try to trick his own brain into thinking he wasn’t the least bit afraid of running into it again. Danny dragged himself from his bed, walking around in nothing but boxer briefs since everyone had left for the day, and lugged himself to the bathroom mirror. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at himself. When he was fourteen, if he saw in the mirror what he was seeing now, he would have worked very hard to make sure it wasn’t what he still looked like after he left the house. At twenty-four, looking at a tired, pale, unshaven man in the mirror hardly made a dent in his day. He peeled himself from the mirror, leapt into the shower, and stood for forty minutes just letting the hot water hit him unrelentingly. He wanted to be hit. He wanted to fight. He wanted to hurt something the way he had been hurt. He began to softly bang his fist against the shower tile. He began to hum the tune of a song that hadn’t left his head for over a year now.

"Mmmmmm….mmmm…mmmmmmmmhmmmmmm  
Before you save me  
Just wait your turn  
Look at me now  
Steady as we burn  
It was alllllll for looooooove……"

Tears now blended into the water falling from his face. He fell to his knees. “Fuck.” He breathed between sobs. The images were beginning to flood back. No, he thought. I want to forget. The sound of his phone buzzing on the sink snapped him out of his wallowing. He turned off the shower faucet and made his way to his phone. It was Tucker. He knew he would just keep calling or worse come over, so he answered. 

“Yeah.”

“Hey, what’s up? What happened to you the other night?” he asked, a lot of noise in the background made his words fuzzy. 

“I fucked her.” Was all Danny could say. He heard Tucker wail.

“Damn, dude! Really?” he laughed. “Hey, my man got laid!” Tucker shouted and a roar of cheers erupted in the background. Danny frowned.

“Where the fuck are you?”

“The club. You should get over he-“

“I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t get any more shitfaced without me.”

The music was blaring, and, of course, Tucker did not wait for Danny to get there before he had two more shots. He was frustrated by this, pushed past him, and ordered three shots to try to catch up. In thirteen seconds, those shots didn’t exist anymore, and Danny felt a slight buzz heading his way. It wasn’t fast enough for him, and he was back at the bar, pushing past people to order three more shots. He pushed past a girl leaning against the counter, trying to wave the bartender over. 

“Eh, what the fuck, dude?” she hissed. Danny turned. For a minute, he could have sworn the girl’s eyes were green, but after blinking a few times to focus under the strobe lights, he could tell they were actually a dark brown. That’s also when he noticed that he knew this girl.

“Hey, aren’t you that chick from class? The assistant?” he asked condescendingly, fingering air quotes. He looked her down. She was wearing a low-cut, white V-neck, tight dark blue jeans, and low-cut red suede heeled boots. Her hair was a dark brown and fell over her breasts. “A little different from what you were wearing in class, huh?” he asked loudly. She rolled her eyes.

“And you look exactly the same. Maybe a little more stubble. Congrats, you’ve accomplished something.” She rolled her eyes again and went back to trying to get the bartender’s attention. Danny chuckled. 

“Don’t act like a few more shots in you wouldn’t change your mind about it.” He teased. He was feeling the shots realizing now he hadn’t eaten that day. 

“Change my mind about what?” she scoffed. She got the bartender to head their way. Danny smiled.

“Fucking me.” He grinned. She turned her head slowly back towards him, eyeing him, a wide grin spreading across her face. 

“Wow, you’re out of your goddamn mind.” She turned to order her next drink but stopped suddenly. She looked back at Danny and grinned again. “Six shots.” She demanded of the bartender. He nodded. Danny raised his eyebrow. 

“I’ve got four shots in me right now, and they still aren’t doing anything to help you. And I promise you, anymore alcohol still wouldn’t get you laid, but in my line of work, providing proof tends to win an argument, and I argue that you are going home with a massive hangover and blue-balls.” She taunted. The shots arrived. She immediately downed two. He couldn’t help but be impressed. He downed two as well. 

“Looking at you now, I have to say, you don’t seem the ‘English professor’ type.” He shouted. She pounded the last two shots. “Hey!” Danny objected. 

“What? You didn’t pay for them. And I’m not a professor yet. And also, you don’t know me.” She smiled. Music blared over the speakers, and Danny could feel all his worries and inhibitions melt from him. All he wanted to do now was focus on getting into the teaching assistant’s very tight pants. He ordered himself two more shots. He glanced around for Tucker but couldn’t find him anywhere. He shrugged it off and headed for the dance floor with his target.

If she was drunk, she didn’t really act like it, and Danny began to seriously wonder if he had a chance with her. She seemed playful, maybe even willing, but not easy and not stupid. The music continued to pound, and he felt his blood boil as she moved to it. Supermassive Black Hole by Muse began to pour from the speakers and the DJ began to enhance the bass. Danny could feel his heart pound in sync with the beat and he watched her hips move along with it too. Fuck me, he thought. I may have judged her a little too quickly. He caught her eyes again. They definitely seemed green now; the dark, brooding make up around them making them hard to refuse. The red of her lips were begging to be ripped apart by his. Danny could feel the throbbing in his pants and tried desperately to curb the urge. 

"Glaciers melting in the dead of night

And the superstars sucked into the supermassive black hole…"

Her dancing became fierce and suddenly she was rubbing against him, friction heating up their clothes, making it harder to keep them on. He felt himself grab her waist, turning her to face him, her hips now sliding her womanhood centimeters from his increasingly hard to conceal erection. Suddenly he felt ice crawl up his throat. He stifled a cough, a puff of blue, icy air escaping his lips. He felt her rip from him, looking at him with shock. She studied him, obviously feeling the alcohol inhibit her ability to do it well. He coughed again. 

“Just a vape pen.” He laughed. She glared at him. In an instant, her mouth was glued to his, shocking even him. A shock wave flowed through him, as though he was being met with an energy, an aura equal to his. The magnetism of her body pushing into his with the music blaring was almost too much to take and he pushed her off of him. 

“What?” she muttered. He stared at her. He knew for a fact that her eyes were green now, and they had not been that way earlier. He studied her; her hair seemed to gleam in the strobe lights. She looked at him with a smirk. “Come with me.” She demanded and grabbed him, forcing him to follow her. 

Every room in the club was dark, even the bathroom, which made for interesting encounters for drunks that were looking for the toilet. Danny could feel the alcohol in him send him to a whole new level, and he quickly did not give a fuck what he just saw, and soon was leading their way into the nearest stall. They slammed into the stall door, causing a horrid echo into the room; neither noticed. He shoved her against the wall and dug his mouth into her neck. She moaned. This fueled him to go further, but he had to work to outdo her. She turned him around, shoving him back, and ripping his jacket from him. 

“Fuck!” he breathed, finding it hard to keep from cumming just from the sheer heat of their passion, thanks to the alcohol. He felt himself grow harder against the movement of her thighs. He felt he was a decently sized guy, maybe even a bit above average, but that didn’t phase this girl, and he banged his fist against the stall as her hips moved in circles around his groin. Nearly reaching his limit, she suddenly pulled away. She looked at him and smiled. He gave her a confused and shameful look. 

“Well, that’s certainly interesting.” She said snidely. 

“What?” he asked breathlessly. She shoved him out of the stall and toward the mirror. He looked. Besides looking quite silly with his erection jetting out, he saw it: snow white hair and glowing green eyes. He felt his heart fall into his stomach. He had not seen this image of himself in a long time. He grunted and shook his head as if to shake the drunkenness from himself. He looked at her. She was not smiling, and her eyes pierced him. 

“I knew it.” She said, crossing her arms. “You’re Danny fucking Phantom


	4. Chapter 4

“Wha-what the fuck…” he slurred. She glared at him.

“So, this is what you’ve been doing. Fucking random girls at clubs? Getting shitfaced to the point of a liquid lobotomy? You’re a real piece of fucking work.” She snarled. He sneered. 

“So, fucking what? Why does everyone get all pissed off that I’m like this? Sorry to burst you’re little naive, school-girl bubble, ‘there is good in this world’ notion.” He smirked. 

“Fuck you, asshole. If it were just about you, I wouldn’t give a shit. But you were supposed to protect this city. Now you’ve got mommy and daddy doing it while you blow the money they give you on drugs and alcohol and fucking the nearest thing with a hole in it.” She yelled. He frowned.

“So what? Not like it helped, right? Not like I was being paid. So, fuck it. And fuck you, whoever you are.” He said turning to leave. Suddenly, as he reached for the doorknob, it became encased in ice. “Whaa-?” he spun back around. She stood behind him, another vision with snow white hair and glowing green eyes, and there was no doubt this time. Danny felt himself pulsate with anger.

“Let me the fuck out of here. Now, you fucking halfa.” He threatened darkly. She feigned a giggle, taunting him again.

“Heh, look who’s talking. And what the fuck are you gonna do? You haven’t gone ghost in two years. You’re drunk. You would have no hope of defeating me.” She smiled and winked. Danny raised the collar of his jacket and turned away from her. 

“You’re right. Now let me out.” He repeated. He heard her giggle again.

“But isn’t this what you like, Danny? A girl just aching to be with you. Don’t you want to fuck my brains out?” she teased in a very fake, very annoying valley girl tone. Danny felt the rage swell within him again. He really didn’t want to use any powers; he didn’t want to give her what she wanted. Suddenly he felt a chill on his neck.  
“C’mon, Danny…” she whispered in a now deep, scintillating tone. He could feel her cold breath. “Just phase through the door. It’s so easy.” He snapped back around, thrusting his hand against her neck and smashed her into the door.   
“You first.” He sneered, clenching his hand tightly against her slender throat. She continued to smirk. 

“You may think you’re not using your powers….but your rage only provokes the ghost inside you. Especially now…using your ghostly strength to pin me.” She scoffed. Danny dropped her. She slid her hand over her throat. 

“You really won’t let me out….” He asked quietly. She shook her head. “Mmm…” he muttered. “You can’t tell me this way all to get me to reveal my powers. You must have wanted it.” He whispered. She was silent. He turned around; her face was turning a slight shade of red under her tan skin and he could see the green in her eyes flicker a bit.

“And you did have, what? About seven shots? At least?” he asked slyly. Again, she remained silent. He walked over to her, and she backed up slightly. “You stand there…acting like you’re better, like you’re not also drunk as shit….like you don’t want me.”

“I can get out of here. You can’t, or rather, won’t.” she objected. He grinned. 

“You won’t either.” He said as he grabbed her waist and violently thrust her toward him. He slid his mouth onto hers, forcing her to give up her weak resistance. He thrust her against the ice-locked door and proceeded to unzip her jeans. In an instant, his hand pushed it’s way into her panties, his fingers now sliding into her. She gasped and he plunged further. He looked at the doorknob; the ice was melting. He kept going, finding he was beginning to enjoy himself. He thrust his hardening dick into her hip. She moaned. His eyes were glued to the door. Just a little more, he thought, for me too. Her moans increased, and in an instant, Danny ripped his hand away and unlocked the door. She stumbled backwards. He looked up and down; he smiled.

“I dunno what you are, or who you’re working for, or what the fuck, but maybe you can just chalk this experience up to being too drunk. Sorry you failed.” He scoffed and turned to walk away.   
“You know what I am. You know how it happened.” She said in a monotone. Danny paused, but then continued out and away from her. He left the club and called for an Uber. He cringed at his luck of getting chatty driver with too many questions. How was your night? Drink too much? You know you look a lot like that Phantom dude? Danny would just shrug.

“Meet anyone at the club?” 

Danny looked into the driver’s rear-view mirror. He smiled.

“Yeah, and I’m going to see her again.” He shifted in his seat and smiled. She was right about one thing: he definitely was going home with a massive hangover and blue balls.

Danny massaged his head as Tucker and Jaz stared at him in awe from across the kitchen table the next morning. He glared at them.

“Okay, tell us again.” Tucker asked. Danny rolled his extremely red eyes.

“Really? It’s fucking simple. There’s another halfa in Amity Park. And she’s our class’s teaching assistant. And…” Danny cut himself off. Jaz and Tucker leaned in, obviously captivated. “And it’s already pretty fucking complicated.” He trailed.

“You just said it was fucking simple.” Tucker corrected. Danny glared.

“Well, yeah, it simple enough to grasp, but it’s complicated…between her and me.” He explained. Jaz and Tucker exchanged glances.

“What do you mean?” Jaz asked in an accusing tone. Danny stared passed them both.

“She mentioned that I know how she became that way.” He looked straight at Jaz. “I think Mom and Dad fucked up more than once.” He said. Tucker grunted. They looked at him.

“Doesn’t Vlad have the same tech? This sounds like something he would do. Make some hot ghost girl lure you into doing something for him, or maybe have you let down your guard?” Tucker offered. Danny raised an eyebrow at him. He shook his head.

“I blasted all his equipment to shit. If he had a hand in this, he would have had to change this girl years ago, before it ever even happened to me. And it wouldn’t make sense that way. He doesn’t have that much foresight.” Danny said, though not together all too sure about it. Jaz and Tucker nodded thoughtfully. 

“Do you think we should talk to Mom and Dad about it?” Jaz asked. Danny thought about this for a bit. Even through his throbbing headache, Danny couldn’t convince himself that talking to his parents about it wouldn’t make things more complicated. His pride also began to seize him, convincing him that he could handle this on his own. He shook his head.

“No. I don’t want them knowing.” He said. He looked at Jaz. “But didn’t they keep video records of their experiments back in the day?” She thought about it and nodded.

“Yeah, up until 1999. Then they just stopped and started to write things down.” She replied. Danny chuckled and looked at Tucker.

“Is it just me or does the instant halt of video documentation spell obvious disaster or cover-up in the most cliché way possible?” he laughed. Tucker nodded. With that, they headed into the basement to search through the boxes of dated equipment and documents. After a half hour, Tucker grunted. 

“This one is heavy.” He said, lifting a box from a rickety shelf. “I think I see VHS’s in there.” He said peering into it, squinting. They helped him set it down and searched through it. Some were labeled, some weren’t. Finally, they reached one labeled “1999”. They all looked at each other and grinned. 

“Wait, who the fuck has a VCR anymore?” Danny asked out loud. Tucker laughed.

“Dude, I got one.” He chimed. Danny raised an eyebrow. 

“I thought you only dealt with the latest tech…”

“Well, lately I’ve been kinda figuring that having old technology for the sake of researching what old media has to offer is an interesting enterprise. Remember when I bought that old SNES at that yard sale three years ago?” he explained. Danny nodded. “I’ve kinda been collecting them. You know, old tech. My goal is to get every piece of tech ever made.” Danny grinned and nudged him in the shoulder. 

“Look at you. Growing and shit.” Danny had forgotten how good it felt to be around his friend, to be around friends in general, and to be doing something other than wallowing in sadness and booze. They gathered the tape and a few documents they found with the same date on it and headed to Tucker’s apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

“Ugh, there is nothing here.” Tucker groaned. Jaz looked at Danny. He purposefully did not return her gaze. 

“Can we just watch the tape now? What are you afraid of Danny?” she asked. Danny sighed. 

“Everything.” He said. It got quiet for a moment. “Let’s just watch it.” He muttered. Tucker leapt up.

“Hold up. I gotta connect everything. Fuck, all these cords.” He mumbled. Danny laid back onto Tucker’s bed. He closed his eyes, and all he could see was that girl: her green, glowing eyes and her dark, red lips, her white hair pouring over her shoulders. He could feel her cold breath on his neck. He could see her suit gripping tight to her curvy body. He began to notice his heart beating faster.

“Got it!” he heard Tucker say, ripping him from his thoughts. Danny opened his eyes to see the static on the tv. The tv continued to run like this for five minutes.

“That’s it?” Jaz asked.

“Maybe your folks erased it somehow.” Tucker offered. Suddenly the screen turned black and voice started to pour out from the television.

“Is she breathing?”  
“I think so. Oh my god…how did she get down here?”   
“Their game must have brought them down here. We should have locked the door.”  
“She has a pulse.”  
“We should call her father.”  
“No!”  
“What do you mean ‘no’?”  
“It would shut down our entire operation here.”  
“We may have seriously injured this girl, and that’s what you’re concerned about?”  
“Jack, we’ve worked so hard to get to where we are. It was working before the surge happened. If she hadn’t   
wandered in there, it would still be running now.”  
“That’s not the most important thing here. We need to call her father, and maybe have her taken to the hospital.”  
“What about Danny? Her father will never let her see him again after this.”  
“Maybe we will be lucky enough that perhaps Danny is still to young now to remember this later on. We just explain that he can’t see her anymore because…”  
“We can say she moved away.”  
“Let’s just focus on getting this little one some medical attention.”  
“Jack…is her hair changing color?”

The tape clicked, noting that it was the end of the video. The three of them sat in silence.

“Did your dad forget to take the cap off the recorder?” Tucker asked. Both Jaz and Danny sighed. 

“We didn’t even get to see the incident.” Jaz muttered. Danny shook his head.

“You don’t need to see it.” He paused. “I was nine when this happened. And apparently, I knew her then. Dad was right. I don’t remember a thing about this girl.” He turned to Jaz. She shook her head.

“I’m sorry. Neither do I.” she stopped and gave Danny a quizzical look. “Do you think maybe it’s just that simple? Maybe she just wants you to remember her?” Danny thought back to the other night. He shook his head.  
“No. I definitely think its more than that. Maybe I should just take the obvious path and ask her.” Tucker and Jaz looked at each other. Jaz shrugged.

“I guess at this point, it couldn’t hurt to try to bring this down to a less dramatic level.” Jaz agreed. 

“Tuck, do you have her email address?” Danny asked. Tucker nodded and reached for a paper that was laying on his desk. 

“Right here.” He said, handing it to him. Danny pulled out his phone and began typing:  
Mia—  
This is Danny Fenton. Please meet me at 1316 Elm Lane today at around 5? I would really like to talk to you. 

He pushed send and laid back onto to Tucker’s bed. 

“Now, we wait.” He said and took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. Ding! Danny’s phone sounded. He jolted back up and whipped his phone from his pocket. 

“ ‘Why should I?’ ” he read out loud. He rolled his eyes. Jaz squinted at his screen.

“You asked to meet?” 

“Yes. What the hell else am I supposed to say?” he snapped. Jaz pulled his phone from his hands and started typing. After a few seconds, she shoved back into his hands.

“There.” She said looking pleased. Danny read it.

I want to apologize for last night and try to make it up to you. Also, I think you and I may just have some catching up to do…Please meet me today?

“That’s what you wrote?” Danny scoffed, beginning to protest. Jaz nudged him in the ribs.

“You need to learn to be a little more tender about things. More sensitive. You used to be better at it.” She stopped talking. Danny looked at the ground in an attempt to hide his eyes, as they were beginning to tear up. He brushed it away and nodded.

“Fine.” He said. Ding! He looked at his phone. He chuckled. “Heh, she says ‘fine’ too.” They all gave a little giggle. 

“Where are mom and dad today?” Danny asked Jaz. 

“They actually left town.” 

“They did??” Tucker and Danny said together in shock. She nodded.

“They were called away.” Jaz suddenly got quiet. 

“By who?” Tucker asked. Jaz turned away. 

“Jaz?” Danny asked. She sighed.

“The governor.” she whispered. Tucker shot up out of his chair. He looked at Danny, who was struggling to keep his eyes from turning green and his body from changing. 

“Wh-why didn’t you say something sooner?” he demanded.

“Because you were already, and still are already, too overwhelmed. I didn’t want to bring it up unless it came up. Besides, I don’t really think it’s anything bad.”

“Don’t think it’s anything bad? Are you fucking kidding me? Ever since that prick became governor, he’s been dangling it over me that he can control our lives and mom and dad.” Danny shouted.

“Well, you haven’t seemed to care for the past two years.” She retorted.

“Luckily, he has done anything to warrant me caring in the past two years!” he yelled.

“Danny, I’m sure it’s fine. I mean wouldn’t you know if it wasn’t?” Tucker said softly. Danny took a deep breath. He paused.

“I don’t know.” He admitted. He looked at the clock and shook his head. “I’m gonna have to worry about this later. Stay here, and if you wouldn’t mind, try to do some research on Mia. Anything you can find. I don’t want anyone at the house with us. I don’t want to spook her.” He got up, ejected the tape, shoved it in his backpack, and left.

Danny actually showered and brushed his hair a bit in preparation for Mia’s visit. As he finished brushing his teeth, there was a knock on the door. He rushed downstairs and practically ripped the door from the frame. His mouth dropped in shock.

“Valerie?!” he said, stunned. She smiled. There she stood, her hair draped over her shoulder. Her tank top was falling over the other shoulder and her pants were skin tight.

“Hi, Danny.” She said in a sultry voice. Danny gulped and backed away from the door as Valerie let herself in. She looked around a bit.

“Changed a little bit since I was here last.” She said with a chuckle. Danny sighed heavily and gathered his composure.

“What do you want, Valerie?” he demanded. She looked at him and grinned.

“Oh, acting tough, huh?” she giggled. “Fine, I’ll get to the point. I just thought you would wanna meet your son.” She grinned again. Danny frowned.

“Fuck you, Valerie. What do you want?” he said darkly. Her grin faded. 

“Well, I was in the neighborhood visiting my dad, and I heard something about a new ghost floating around. You wouldn’t happen to know anything?” she teased. Danny rolled his eyes. 

“You know I don’t deal with that shit anymore. Besides, if there was, you wouldn’t be the one the state would call.” He said grinning tauntingly. She rolled her eyes.

“I’m auxiliary. So, let’s hope nothing happens to mommy and daddy. You may just lose your meal ticket.” She hissed.

“You fucking bitch. Get the fuck out.” He said. She shrugged and slide up to him, her hand gliding up his thigh. He swallowed hard. He could smell her perfume, and he instantly remembered. She turned and pressed her body against his, her breasts squeezing against his torso. His breath left him. 

“It’s been a while. I have to admit, I’m finding it a little hard to resist you. Even as unshaven as you are.” She whispered. Danny rubbed his scruffy chin and frowned. 

“I’m not sleeping with you, Valerie. Especially since the last time was a fucking mistake.” He muttered. She stopped rubbing against him and reproachfully headed for the door.

“Whatever, Danny. But I’m sure I will be seeing you around. I’ll be in town for a while. We gotta make sure after all that no ghosts get any bright ideas of coming back to Amity Park.”, she pulled out a plasma gun from the back of her pants. “I wouldn’t want to have to fuck it up.” She winked at him and left. Danny let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Fuck.” He breathed. 

“Well! You really are ballsy! A ghost fucking a ghost hunter. I feel like I’m at least getting close to having seen everything….” He heard a soft voice tease.

“Fuck!” he yelled, startled. She laughed. He looked at her confused. She had been sitting on the stairs, invisible and somehow, undetectable.

“How?” was all he could say. She smiled.

“When you’ve been doing this for as long as I have, you get pretty good at it. Not even her gear could sense me. I’m not surprised you couldn’t either in the state you’re in.” she explained. She looked at the door and grinned. “And, I would very much like to see her try to fuck me up.” Danny finally caught his breath. He shook his head. 

“Mia. I really need to talk to you.”


	6. Chapter 6

Mia stood up from the stairs and leaned up against the wall. She looked at Danny expectantly. He just stood there, searching for a place to begin.

"Are we doing this here, or…?" she asked. Danny let out a half-hearted chuckle and made his way past her and up the stairs, motioning for her to follow. He led the way to his room before getting halfway there and remembering that his room was a mess.

"Fuck." He said under his breath. He turned toward her. "Uh, maybe we should actually go back downstairs?" she squinted at him.

"You're room's a mess?" she guessed. He shrugged.

"A bit."

"I don't really care. Let's just go in there." She insisted. He shrugged again and sighed. He opened the door and cringed. He heard a chuckle. "Oh, dude, mine's worse." She laughed. Danny couldn't help but grin at her cool indifference. They moved towards his bed to sit and he shoved a huge load of clothes off of it and onto the floor.

"I honestly don't know if those were clean or dirty." Danny found himself admitting. Mia smiled. They sat on the bed in awkward silence for a while.

"So, you brought me here to sit in a thick awkwardness?" she asked sarcastically. Danny rolled his eyes.

"I really don't know how to start this." He replied. She nodded.

"Okay, I'll go." She stood up. "Hi, my name's Mia, and I'm half-ghost." She looked back down at Danny. "That's where you say, 'Hi Mia', but try to sound like several people." He shook his head and grinned. This girl is crazy, he found himself thinking with some admiration. He opened his mouth to say something but was quickly cut off.

"You ever been around a dangerous ghost?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow.

What kinda question is that?" he answered. She shrugged.

"The question kind." She smiled. Danny shrugged.

"Yeah, obviously. When I was active."

"No, but I mean like an extremely dangerous ghost. The kinds of ghosts that don't go looking for a fight. And the kind that follow you home. Have you ever encountered a dangerous ghost?" she asked, her voice becoming eerie. Danny frowned in confusion.

"I guess not?" he answered, still unsure. She looked away. He wasn't sure but he thought he saw her eyes flash green for a moment.

"They're scary." Was all she said. Danny sat there, puzzled.

"Do you…I mean…well, first about last night-" Danny started. She turned to him and grinned.

"Yeah, you're pretty good with your hands, huh?" she asked, looking him straight in the face. He could feel his face growing warm but shrugged.

"I guess so. Probably as good as you are with your mouth." he replied. She nodded.

"I try."

Danny wished he has tossed back a shot of whiskey or something before this conversation, feeling much more off his game than usual, he felt that it would have at least helped a little. He then thought that approaching this girl drunk probably wasn't the best choice. He needed to get to the bottom of who this girl was and what she was after, as well as what their shared history was.

"Okay, look. Maybe we shouldn't have any more drunken encounters. And maybe we could start over? Forget last night happened?" he offered. Her smile seemed to falter a bit, but she quickly perked back up.

"I mean, I can act like it didn't happen. Like literally act like it didn't happen, but I'm not talented enough to wipe it from my memory, and I don't want to even try to attempt at the amount of alcohol it would take." She joked. He sighed.

"C'mon. Please try to be serious here. There are several things we need to get straight." He pleaded. Her smiled completely left her and her eyes darkened a bit.

"Okay, Danny. Let's do what you want to do when you are good and ready to do it." She retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he said becoming angry. She turned away and just shook her head. He looked down and sighed. "You know me, don't you?" he asked. She didn't move and remained quiet. "Before this, before my accident…before your accident…you knew me, didn't you?" he continued. She remained still, not reacting at all. Danny didn't know what else to say. They, again, sat in silence for a while.

"Do you know something?" she finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"Asking these questions, I feel like you know something." She muttered, still not looking at him. He looked at her.

"We were friends? We knew each other as kids?" he said. He saw her nod slightly.

"Go on.'' She replied. He forced out sigh.

"I don't know anything else, except that my parents probably were the ones who turned you into a ghost." He snapped. She grinned.

"Oh, I'm sorry your parents turning me into a ghost upsets you." She shot at him. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to start over here. Start fresh with you." He said, irritated.

"No, you're not. You're just trying to get answers out of me for your own satisfaction. Don't try to make me feel like shit just because you aren't getting anywhere with your technique." She said coolly. Danny sighed again, defeated. She raised her eyebrows. "Soo, you wanna take another crack at it?" He nodded.

"Look, I just want to know what happened, Mia. We were friends…what happened after the accident?" he said so earnestly it changed the whole energy of the room. Mia looked a bit taken aback. Now it was her turn to sigh.  
"Okay, we were like, nine, right? I really don't remember much. I remember feeling a lot of pain. Like a stupid amount of pain. I remember opening my eyes and seeing yours, staring at me in panic and worry. It's all a blur, Danny. I lost a lot of time with the whole situation. The only thing I know definitively is that my dad never let me around you anymore, and I pretty much all but forgot about you until I was around fourteen. Then I started to hear about a ghost boy running around saving people and defeating ghosts who were causing problems. At this point, I had been playing with and structuring my powers for several years already, and I was getting really good with them. My dad forced me to hide them, and even though I begged him to let me join you in fighting ghosts, he demanded I never use my powers and suggested I even forget I had them." She stopped for minute, seemingly trying to register everything she just said. Danny stared at her but didn't force her for more information.

"Sooooo, for six years, I kept my powers a bit under wraps. I mean, of course, I still played around with them behind my dad's back. I would challenge myself and even take some risks. Then I found…" she stopped suddenly and gave Danny a untrusting look. "Well, I found a way to escape my dad and find a place I could practice and strengthen my powers. Since then, I've been doing my own thing, as far as fighting ghosts." She looked at Danny gently now. "And I was playing with the idea of maybe joining you, but about two years ago, you kinda disappeared." She looked at him expectantly. Danny frowned and stood up. He walked over to his desk, which was covered in fast food wrappers and empty take-out cups. He brushed aside a hamburger wrapper and revealed a picture that seemed to have been crumpled at one point and maybe even used as a napkin. He gulped. He turned back to Mia.

"I can't tell you about that just yet. But it is nice, I have to admit, to have a friend." He said quietly. Mia scrunched up her nose. "Well, I mean a friend that's not Tucker or my sister." She stood up and walked over to him.

"I wish we could pick up from where we left off." She inched closer to him. He could feel his breath become caught in his chest. "But I don't remember anything about when we were kids."

"Me either." Danny breathed.

"I'm sorry, too, about how we reunited. It was a crude of me…well, very crude. But I'm not the most trusting person, so I try to bring out a person's worst qualities in order to get to know them faster. I didn't want to be surprised with you." She explained. Danny nodded.

"That makes as much sense as anything else, I guess." He replied. They stood together in silence for several minutes, searching their minds for a way to transition.

"I don't think there is anything left to talk about. At least, nothing we know of. I think maybe the best we can do is just get to know each other again." Mia offered after a long silence.

"Yeah, I would be willing to do that. How do you want to get started?" Danny asked. Mia shrugged, but inched even closer to him. He felt his body go rigid. He gulped. "I wonder…" he began.

"If…?" Mia continued.

"We had ever….?" Danny added.

"Had…?"

"Feelings for each other?" Danny let out. Mia grinned at him.

"Would it surprise you?" she asked, her voice low. He now found himself moving closer to her.

"I really don't know if I can be surprised anymore." He now whispered, his mouth inching towards hers.

"Danny…"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if this is a good idea, but…"

"I know…I can't help myself either…" Danny moved toward Mia, his mouth only centimeters from hers, but he suddenly felt a hand on his chest, and his eyes sprung open.

"Maybe, though, this isn't the best way. We might screw things up, right?" she said. Danny frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked, slightly embarrassed. She looked extremely concerned now.

"If we begin re-establishing our friendship with hooking up, there would essentially be no friendship, right? We would just be sleeping together…"she trailed. Danny thought about this. He couldn't, and wouldn't, deny to himself that he had been aching to touch her again since their encounter at the club. He had been daydreaming about pinning her into his bed and having his way with her; he fantasized about using all his strength to grip her and thrust himself forcefully in and out of her. He, in fact, had been looking forward to it. He could never use his otherworldly strength with any of the other girls he fucked; he knew he would hurt them, and thusly, he was never able to be fully satisfied. He wondered if his ghost powers had made his libido insatiable. It made him angry just thinking about it. His powers felt more like a disability than a gift, and not being able to flex his powers during a session of pure, animalistic, lustful sex, frustrated him further. But Mia was different, obviously. Not only could she take it, but she could understand it and give it back. He felt like an ass for only thinking with his dick at this moment, but he couldn't help himself, and his sensed himself heading down a path were he would do anything to get into this girl's pants.

"What I am ultimately trying to say is that we wouldn't be getting to know each other the right way, nor would we really care to, right? We would only be interested in sex." She looked at the ground. "To be honest, I would love to rip your clothes off right now and, to be even more honest, rape the shit out of you." She said, not skipping a beat. Danny felt himself quiver at the noise of her words. It took everything in him to not silence her with his mouth and throw his body on top of hers. She seemed to notice him becoming ever more uncomfortable in his own body. "Uh, maybe I actually shouldn't say stuff like that, huh?" she asked. Danny grimaced.

"Not unless you want me to miss the point entirely." He said, slightly squirming. Mia looked at him and giggled.

"Wow, okay. Look, I should probably go then, but I can see you tomorrow? Maybe we can flex our powers? A little friendly sparring?" she asked. Danny gulped and nodded. She grinned. "See you tomorrow then."

Danny made sure she was gone. He looked out his bedroom window, and as soon as he saw her walk away and down the street, he leapt himself onto his bed, began taking deep breaths, and closed his eyes, trying to think of anything else but her. He tried to silence his mind and concentrate on his breathing. It shocked him that he was feeling this way at all. Sure, he had known a few girls to give him some pretty lustful urges, but this was different. This wasn't an urge; it was a need. He felt himself somehow magnetized to her. He was worried about her being too far away from him. But most of all, he was worried what would happen if he got his way. What would happen after being with her? He really worried he might lose himself. He stopped his mind. He tried to breathe. He saw the darkness behind his eyelids. The world seemed to calm down now.

"Danny."

Danny jumped out of his skin. Did she come back? That was definitely her voice, albeit it sounded different; it sounded sultry and serious. No, he thought, I can't. That's weird. But the voice rang through his mind. It was like it could reach out and touch him.


	7. Chapter 7

Danny woke up sober this morning, and he wasn’t sure if it was any better than waking up hungover or still shit-faced even. He rubbed his head and realized his hair was reaching new levels of long and unkempt. He stumbled into the bathroom and took a long look at himself. His eyes looked dark and unyielding beneath the mound of black hair that fell over his face. The red in his eyes clashed horribly with the blue of his irises. Suddenly, he began to feel very self-conscious. He walked from his bathroom over to his desk, which was almost completely buried beneath clothes. He shuffled things around, unleashing a mountain of laundry which fell to the floor. He pulled open a drawer and dug into it to find an old, slightly ripped picture. It was a picture of him and Tucker when they were 17, getting ready to go to their prom. It was taken before they met up with their dates, and Danny was grateful for this. He studied the way he looked in this picture. His hair was definitely shorter than it was now, with is trademark length in the front which perfectly fell over face, giving him that angsty, brooding look. His eyes were a brilliant blue, rivaled only by the otherworldly green he knew they could change into. And he was happy. Excited for the future. Danny folded up the picture and slipped it into his pocket. He looked out his window absent-mindedly. He missed being happy. He missed not feeling guilty every damn day. He wanted it back, and he was beginning to feel his self-pity turning into anger and desire to get his happiness back. He would make it his goal-his job to achieve that level of happiness again. And he was going to start by dressing for the job he wanted. 

Danny unlocked the front door and walked in as quietly as he could. He heard a noise coming from the kitchen. He heard two voices echoing from that direction and figured it was his parents. They probably hadn’t heard him. Suddenly froze when he noticed Jaz making her way from the hallway directly in front of him. He hated explaining his actions to anyone, but now he was going to have to. Jaz looked up from the book she was glancing over, and her mouth fell agape. 

“Danny? Oh my God!” she said. Suddenly Danny heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. He sighed. Within two second, his parents were in the archway of the hall, looking at him with equal shock. Danny suddenly realized it would be a good opportunity for him to have some fun with them. He tilted his neck and let his newly cut hair fall over his face, his blue eyes staring at them from behind the curtains of his jet-black hair. His family’s shock turned to excitement. 

“Danny! You look amazing, sweetie!” his mom yelped. His dad nodded in approval. Jaz had a huge grin on her face and gave him a knowing look. Danny rolled his eyes at her but gave her a little grin along with it. “What brought this on?” his mom asked, breaking Danny’s gaze with his sister. He shrugged. He straightened his back and took a deep breath. He felt himself regaining control over himself and over his life with each breath he took. He felt good for once. 

“Would this have anything to do with that girl we saw say sneaking out of her the other day?” Jack questioned his son. Danny felt his face contort into slight confusion. Did they not recognize her? he wondered to himself. He shot a glance at Jaz, who was making the same expression in her father’s direction. Danny regained his attention toward the conversation.

“Uh, I dunno. I just felt like I was tired of being unhappy. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to…” he paused, his entire was leaned toward his direction, hanging on his words. “-to maybe…try again.” He finished. His parents had a combination of pride and worry written across their faces, but Jaz could not have looked more reassured and confident in her brother. 

“Does this mean-?” his mom began. Danny shrugged. 

“Maybe.” Was all he said, and he headed back up to his room. He did not see his parents glance at each other, slowly but surely putting the pieces together. He ran up the stairs and stopped short at the entrance of his room. He raised an eyebrow at the mess that laid before him. He sighed. “Guess this will be how I begin.” He took a deep breath. He could feel his power dormant now but stirring. He breathed again. And again. In and out. In and out. He closed his eyes. He let his awakening power flood him throughout his body. He forgot how good it could feel. His eyes snapped open, feeling the ectoplasm fill his irises, staining them green, and moving his hand in a wave like motion, he lifted the massive pile of laundry from his floor into his laundry basket. He breathed again. Waving his hand back the other way, he shocked himself as everything in his room lifted from his resting place. He grinned, surprised. Using his other hand, he steadied everything and began to move groups of objects back to their rightful places in his room. I didn’t expect this to be so easy and quick. It’s been so long…I wonder…he thought to himself but continued to practice with his powers cleaning and reorganizing his room. It was a few hours before he was satisfied with the job he had done. He looked at the clock. It was already very late in the afternoon. He looked around for what in his room was clean to wear. He found an old white and red t-shirt, a red plaid button up and a pair of ripped, dark blue jeans almost having been waiting for him to find them and put them on once again. He changed, grabbed a pair of red Converses hanging from a hook behind his bedroom door and headed out to an old, abandoned house at the edge of town which he and Mia had agreed through text to meet at tonight. 

Hands deep in his pockets, Danny walked onto the empty and abandoned lot where Mia told him to meet her. He definitely felt the creeps seeping out of this place. As if just having appeared from nowhere, Danny saw Mia standing at the side of the house, staring into it, not blinking. 

“Mia?” he asked. She turned to look at him, and he saw her gaze instantly soften at the sight of him. She blinked three or four times very quickly. 

“Danny? What did you do?” Her voice was steady, as she rarely ever seemed caught off guard or surprised by anything, but her eyes definitely gave her away, at least to him. He smiled. 

“Cleaned myself up a bit, I guess.” He smirked. He saw her mouth part ever so slightly when he did this. She very lightly bit her lip, but quickly stopped. If he had blinked, he would have missed it. “Anyway, why did you bring me to this place? It’s fucking creepy.” He said, trying to play off just how uncomfortable he was becoming. Mia’s face folded into a watchful, alert expression. 

“Why do you think that is?” she asked, looking again at the house. Danny was about to come up with some cocky response, until Mia put her index finger in the air, stopping him. “Close your eyes and be very quiet for a minute.” Unsure of what was going on, he obeyed. Suddenly he could feel it. There was a weird energy, and what unsettled him even more was he could feel it building. He opened his eyes and looked at Mia. Her eyes were scanning the dilapidated building. As her eyes moved, she inhaled sharply and with a long, drawn out exhale, blue, frosty air came from her slightly parted lips. Danny felt cold air erupt from within him, searing through his throat, chilling his insides. 

“Danny.” Mia broke his concentration on his ghost sense. 

“Yeah?”

“In all your years of ghost hunting and fighting, just how much do you really know about the ghost world?” Danny frowned in thought at the question. Danny had followed his parents research as much as he had needed to for each ghost he faced. 

“I mean, I’ve traversed almost the entire Ghost Zone, why?” 

“Did you think that all ghosts end up in the Ghost Zone?” Mia asked, almost darkly. Danny frowned again in thought. “People form groups, make societies and places where they can feel safe. It’s the same with the Ghost Zone. But what about those who don’t fit into society? What about those too dangerous to live…or die with the rest of us?”

“Too dangerous?” he asked, choking back the shakiness reaching his throat. He had fought scores of ghosts that had all been out to kill him; what could be more dangerous than that?

“There are ghosts, Danny, that are not the type to follow rules or join societies. Ghosts that you have not encountered. Ghosts that will do worse things than kill you.” She trailed off. Danny felt himself shiver and noticed that the sun was almost completely gone. Never once during a battle had Danny ever felt scared, at least, not since the beginning. Now, however, was starting to feel different. 

“Where are we, Mia?” he asked. Mia looked at the ground now. 

“We are at the home of a family who was driven to suicide. Slow, slow suicide. Each one taking their life after the other. And they were drawn to do this by an evil spirit who inhabits this place. Now he uses their ghostly energy to build his power. And he has chosen us to be next…”


	8. Chapter 8

Danny didn’t know it, but he had taken at least ten steps away from the house and from Mia. He could feel a lump growing in his throat as he took a hard swallow. Mia still wasn’t looking at him, and it now looked like whatever she was scanning the house for, she may have just found. 

“Mia, what the fuck are you talking about?” Danny asked shakily. Mia did not stop staring at the house. Suddenly, Danny could hear a voice in his head.

“Shhhh…we shouldn’t be talking about it now. I would suggest that you go ghost, though. And quickly.”

Danny recognized the voice as Mia’s, and his questions were now just piling on, one after another. But his ghost sense was beginning to freeze every breath he was taking, and he could sense a massive danger approaching. He closed his eyes and took a deep, frigid breath and began to concentrate on going completely ghost for the first time in years. While his breath was ice, he could feel his cheeks begin to twinge with heat; he really hoped it wouldn’t take him long to change as he felt he had already embarrassed himself enough in front of Mia. Out of nowhere, he felt a sudden jolt of wind and heard a metallic snap! He opened his eyes to see Mia in full ghost form, still staring at the house with unyielding scrutiny. Danny felt himself grow a bit weak: he had never seen Mia in full ghost form before. He couldn’t help but feel slightly mesmerized; she stood before him in a jumpsuit relatively similar to his own, but with small differences. The suit unwaveringly gripped her body. The cuff of her suit did not wrap itself around her slender neck, but rather the front zipper of the suit only made it to just above her breasts. The gloves of her suit wrapped around her upper arms and her boots stopped right at her inner thighs, with the other end of the boots having a slight wedge heel. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun of glittering white strands, some falling over her concentrating face. Her eyes were the most piercing green he had ever seen, as if she were almost brimming with pure, unbridled power. The urge was beginning to return to him. The deep desire he harbored for her was growing more powerful each day and seeing her like this wasn’t helping matters. But Danny could feel an energy, regardless of whether it was lustful or not, channeling through his body now. He again closed his eyes and with one breath, he could feel the energy radiating over his body, changing his form from human to ghost. He felt his clothes grip him, as he felt his muscles fill his suit. As though someone was running their fingers through his hair, he felt it change from black to white. He opened his eyes and felt the ectoplasm fill his irises, staining blue with green. 

Fully transformed for the first time in two years, Danny exhaled, almost a sigh of relief. He looked at Mia. She was staring at him; her dark red lips were parted again as she was lightly biting them. For a moment, her eyes met his and time was lost just for a split second. A shift in the house broke them from each other, and Mia’s attention violently snapped back to the house. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Danny saw a black blur rush past him. He turned quickly but saw nothing. He could feel darkness growing around him, filling the air like a smog. It was entirely nighttime now. Danny shot a look at Mia, who was looking in his direction and her eyes were glowing green. She wasn’t looking directly at him, but rather, right past him. Danny felt pure iciness fill the air just behind him. Rather than allow the fear in his gut to control his actions, he instead allowed anger to fill him. Suddenly he heard words fill his mind.

"You’re an interesting one. The darkness in you is hard to resist….so appetiiiiiizing." 

Danny curled his fingers into a fist, igniting his hand, and engulfing it in plasmic fire. He moved with inhuman speed and drove his fist into the entity that was looming behind him. A shrill screech filled the area, massively powerful and causing the entire place to vibrate with shattering power. The black, shadowy mass dispersed, and Danny could no longer see it. His eyes vibrated, trying desperately trying to see the dark creature in the midst of night. Almost instantly, black, pulsating power rose from the ground behind him before he could react. Just as quickly, Mia flew down from above, landing and driving her ghostly, fire-engorged fist into the ground, causing the thing to release another unearthly scream. Danny could feel his ears ringing. Suddenly silence filled the air just as thickly as the screams had. Danny turned to face Mia. He saw her reach her hand out into emptiness. He turned toward the direction she was motioning to and saw a backpack rushing toward her, as though it was magnetically drawn to her. She caught it and instantly drew out a very odd-looking thermos from it. She dropped the bag and removed the lid from the thermos. 

“Danny, get close to me.” She said suddenly. He looked confused but took a step closer to her. She reached out and grabbed him, yanking him almost directly into her. “This one is easier than I thought. But, just in case…” she paused, looking around, her eyes still glowing. “Slide your hands up my waist.” He was taken aback by this and hesitated. But he couldn’t hold back for long, and soon his hands were gripping her waist. He could feel the energy again. It made his fingertips tingle. He felt himself pulling her closer into him, and with every movement of his hands, he felt his power increasing. Suddenly, the eerie silence broke and it felt as though something had hit the sound barrier surrounding them. Instantly, Danny and Mia were ripped from each other and thrown, reeling backwards. Both hit the ground hard. Danny panted, desperately trying to refill his lungs with the wind that was knocked out of them. He turned and saw Mia sprawled on the ground, the creature rushing towards her with sickening speed. Danny felt a pang of gut-wrenching panic sear through him, but in a split second, Mia turned, thermos aimed at the entity and absorbed it into the container. It let out one last chilling scream as it was pulled into the thermos, and then all was quiet. Mia sealed the container and placed it on the ground. She stood up, cleared her throat, and patted the dirt from her gloves. She walked over to Danny and offered out her hand. His eyes glued to her, he slowly slipped his hand into hers. She pulled him up quickly and the force of her pull now placed their faces only inches from each other. Instead of instantly pulling away, as he worried she might do, Mia linger there for a bit. He could feel her icy breath coming out in quick puffs. Wait, why is her breath still so frigid? He wondered. His face contorted in confusion, and he looked toward the house. There in the darkness were four, darkish outlines, all different sizes. He squinted and realized they looked like the outlines of people. They were feature-less, and it sent chills up his spine. Mia moved from him and walked over to the area he was staring at. He looked at her in shock, as she gently raised her hand to the shadows. Slowly, all the shadows reached out back to her and touch the tips of her fingers. Light emulated from her to them and suddenly Danny could see them just as clearly as he could see her. They were intangible and translucent, but he could them. There were two adults and two teenagers. They wore clothing that looked to be from the turn of the 20th century. They looked at Danny, nodded, and smiled. Then they looked back at Mia. One of the adults said something to her, who then nodded back and suddenly all four of them disappeared. Once they were gone, Mia dipped her head slightly toward the ground, and Danny wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a tear fall from her. After a few moments, Mia looked back at him and gave him a small, gentle smile. The massive, unbridled energy that he usually felt when he was near her shift within him a bit. No longer did he feel a power that he had to actively hold back, but now, in the pit of his chest, he felt a flutter: an essence within that he was having trouble identifying. His eyes locked with Mia’s. Her eyes glistened in the now prevalent moonlight. Suddenly, Danny knew. He smiled back at her, never wanting to tear his eyes away from her again.


End file.
